For years, I thoughts of someone who was always happy - bubbly, overly-optimistic, never sad. But was that true? What is joy?

Here are a few thoughts about joy:

1. What is it?What is true joy?

Over the last few months, I have realized that joy does not equal happiness. Happiness comes and goes, but joy stays, even when we feel sad and are struggling.

I don't have all the answers yet... I'm still learning. But I am learning that joy is so important! The Bible mentions joy several times - choosing joy, rejoicing, the joy that God gives us, and so much more! ​2. What are common "joy-stealers"? :) If joy is so important, why is it that we often don't have it? Here are a few ideas I have seen:

Legalism: There's nothing like a whole bunch of extra-Biblical rules to take away your joy. To feel like we have to make-God-happy is overwhelming, and when we lose sight of the gift of salvation, we lose our joy. We end up feeling like we need to try to impress God or those around us, and we lose our joy. But God doesn't call us to follow rules to make it to heaven, He asks us to trust Him as our Savior. Then we follow what He asks because of His love for us, not because of a sense of obligation... But that's a different topic for a different time. :)

Condemnation: Condemnation and legalism go hand-in-hand, but even when legalism isn't connected, condemnation will steal your joy. Satan loves to accuse us, to tell us that we failed, that we'll never make it, that we'll always sin. But that's not what Jesus says! Romans 8:1 gives us hope: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." We don't need to feel condemned.

Sin: There's nothing like true guilt to steal our joy. Sin separates us from God. It keeps us from living a life set apart for Christ. We all sin, but there is a way back. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

3. What things bring us joy?The world would probably have a different suggestion here. They would probably encourage us to buy something to make us happy, live for ourselves, or a whole bunch of other ideas.

But that's not Jesus' way.

Here are a few things I have found bring me joy:

Living for Christ: Living a life set apart for Jesus brings so much joy! Even if we have to stand alone, to know "if God is for us, who can be against us" is the greatest assurance we can have.

Serving Jesus: Setting aside time to serve Jesus bring so much joy! To be able to touch people for Christ, or even to do the seemingly insignificant tasks for Jesus is so fulfilling!

Spending Time with God: Have you ever had a "mountain-top experience," a time when you felt so close to God? What did you feel? Peace? Joy? Spending time with Jesus is an amazing blessing.